10 
The Council has also, at the requ2st of the Railway Department, 
made certain concessions to country excursionists for the summer 
months. 
The total revenue for the past year has been ^5227 9s. id. The 
Government grant was reduced by ^500 from the 1st of July last. 
The gate receipts, which are usually within a few pounds of what 
they were in the preceding year, have shown some fluctuations. 
For the first half of the year there was an increase of ^101, but 
September, October, and November showed a falling off of ^52 
from the average receipts, thus there is an increase of ^49 for the 
year. 
The Bank overdraft has been increased by £135 15s. 4d.; this 
increase was owing to our not knowing the intention of the Govern¬ 
ment to reduce the vote until September. 
The Maintenance of Stock Account, although carefully looked 
after, is higher than last year, on account of the much-increased 
prices of grain and fodder. 
The Council begs to record its thanks to the lion. F. S. Grimwade, 
the retiring President, for the services he has always willingly 
rendered to the Society during his term of office, and also to Mr. 
f. R. James, its Hon. Treasurer. It also desires to place on record 
its appreciation of the satisfactory way in which the Director, 
Assistant Director, and other officers and employes of the Society 
have performed their duties during the past year, as, despite the 
small and inadequate income the Society has, the Gardens are kept 
in very good order, and are admired by all who visit them, and bear 
favourable comparison with many of the beautiful gardens in 
Europe. 
1 he President, the Hon. F. S. Grimwade, in moving the adoption 
ot the Report, stated that, with ihe other members of the Council 
how he deplored the death of Mr. A. A. C. Le Souef, their late 
Director, and how he had lost in him one whom he had long had as 
a personal iriend, and vvhose friendship he valued. He also stated 
that during his late visit to Europe he had seen no Gardens that 
were better laid out, or with more tasteful buildings, or with such 
a beautiful show of fiowers, as in the Melbourne Gardens, and also 
t lat these Gardens were far freer from unpleasant odours than anv 
ot the Gardens in Europe he had visited, especially with such 
buildings as Carnivora and Monkey Houses, as beyond occasionally 
a slight peifume from the animals themselves, these Gardens were 
almost free from them. He was glad to hear that the Gardens were 
practically free from rats. It was satisfactory to notice that Scrub 
lurkeys had again been successfully hatched out from the nesting 
